Entries in New Jersey
(12)

Alo Ceballos/FilmMagic(NEW YORK) -- The Rolling Stones will be joined by Mother Monster herself, Lady Gaga, at this Saturday's 50 & Counting show at Newark, N.J.'s Prudential Arena. That's good news not only for ticket holders, but also for fans who'll be watching the final show of the Stones' current outing via pay-per-view.

The Stones will also be joined at the New Jersey show by Bruce Springsteen and The Black Keys. The Stones were joined at the London and Brooklyn, N.Y. concerts by guests including rock guitar legend Jeff Beck, Mary J. Blige, and Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine, as well as by past Stones members Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor.

Dubbed One More Shot, the Dec.15 pay-per-view event kicks off at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Fans can get more info at RollingStones.com/watch.

Paul Zimmerman/WireImage(LONDON) -- Jon Bon Jovi was supposed to do a European promotional tour to promote Bon Jovi's upcoming album, but in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, he's chartered a private jet and returned home to his family. Jon told the British paper the Daily Mail, "I really need to get back home...I need to be with my people. Thankfully my family are safe."

In addition to worrying about his family, Jon is of course deeply affected by the destruction the hurricane caused in his home state of New Jersey. He tells the Daily Mail, "There is no power, water, the devastation is off the charts. The president is in my home town in New Jersey because of the damage. It’s like Armageddon. Where my children surf, 80 houses burnt down."

Jon says he wants to help rebuild through his charity, the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, and one way he can help is through the foundation's charity restaurant, the Soul Kitchen. "A lot of people rely on [it] for their food. I need to find a generator and get that working," he tells the paper. "What can I do? I have to get there and find out. We take care of each other, that’s what we do in our town."

MTV Networks(NEW YORK) -- Filming drunken stars on the streets has become a staple of reality TV. Now a law proposed in New Jersey could give towns more authority when it comes to regulating the messier effects of those scenes.

The Snookiville Law, bill A-3273, was introduced earlier this month and named for Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, star of MTV’s Jersey Shore.

The legislation would permit towns to regulate production and impose fees on crews for additional police surveillance during filming.

“New Jersey has a tradition of being a desirable location for reality TV shows such as Jersey Shore, The Real Housewives of New Jersey and Cake Boss,” New Jersey assemblyman Ronald Dancer (R), who introduced the bill, said. “These shows can attract crowds, which can benefit local businesses and challenge a community’s resources.”

Dancer says the bill, “will permit local officials to make sure taxpayers don’t get ‘Snook’-ered or public safety is compromised.”

“It’s designed to provide towns with an option. It’s not a mandate, but an option,” Dancer said. “For a local municipal to license filming as a special event, we can better manage and plan to prevent poor situations, such as crowds, traffic congestion and drunkenness.”

Towns that choose to adopt the ruling could require crews to pay for additional security, specifically if stars are stumbling down the streets, engaging in disorderly conduct.

“Reality TV can be an asset to a host community, as long as we remember that these shows may cost taxpayers money by requiring additional services when cameras are rolling in town,” Dancer said.

Dancer says he hopes the law will take effect by the end of this year.

A day after federal prosecutors in New Jersey charged Hill, 37, with three counts of "knowingly and willfully fail(ing) to make an income tax return to the IRS," according to court documents, Hill took to Tumblr to share her side of the story.

Hill said she withdrew to heal and grow away from the forces that had oppressed and manipulated her in the past. She didn't name any names.

"It was critically important that I find a suitable pathway within which to exist, without being distorted or economically strong-armed," she wrote. "Failure to create a non-toxic, non-exploitative environment was not an option."

Hill won five Grammys when she launched her solo career with the album "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" in 1998, but she dropped out of sight in the early 2000s.

The singer pointed out that she paid her taxes before going underground.

"This only stopped when it was necessary to withdraw from society, in order to guarantee the safety and well-being of myself and my family," she wrote.

Hill made more than $1.8 million from 2005 through 2007, the years she allegedly failed to pay taxes, according to federal court documents.

Hill said she conveyed the contents of her post when authorities questioned her about her taxes.

"Obviously, the danger I faced was not accepted as reasonable grounds for deferring my tax payments, as authorities, who despite being told all of this, still chose to pursue action against me, as opposed to finding an alternative solution," she wrote, adding that she always intended to rectify the situation.

She could face up to a year in prison or $100,000 fine for each of three counts, according to a press release from the Department of Justice. She is scheduled to appear before a judge on June 29.

Jason Merritt/Getty Images(HOBOKEN, N.J.) -- Hoboken, N.J., has denied a request by 495 Productions to shoot a Jersey Shore spin-off, starring Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Jenni "JWoww" Farley, in the city for MTV.

In a memo posted on the official Hoboken website, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer writes, "Based on protecting public safety and quality of life concerns for Hoboken residents, the City has denied a film permit for a spin-off of the Jersey Shore to be filmed in public locations."

Additional letters posted on the site note that the request was for a "reality-based" series that would have required 700 hours of film to produce a one-hour broadcast. The letter says the proposed 24-hour filming permit would have violated a Hoboken law that prohibits filming in residential areas after 11:00 p.m.

Furthermore, Zimmer says city officials expressed surprise that 495 Productions in the past had filmed in public areas without a necessary permit and instead reached "informal 'verbal agreements'" that involved "payments to individuals." Zimmer says the city of Hoboken has "zero tolerance" for such actions.

Zimmer expanded on her concerns in an interview with ABC News Radio. She says she's seen the wild antics of the Jersey Shore crew on MTV, and she doesn't "want people coming and destroying -- hootin' and hollerin' in the middle of the night, and destroying our city."

495 Productions can appeal the decision through the Hoboken Film Commission.﻿

Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images(SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J.) -- If your idea of a weekend getaway involves a little gym, tan and laundry, pull out your plastic for this one. The owner of the house that Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and the rest of the Jersey Shore crew call home is available for rental.

Actually, the Seaside Heights, N.J., home has been available for rental since the show began -- available, that is, when the crew's not crashing there while Jersey Shore's in production. It's not cheap, though: the rental price for the six bedroom, three bath residence is $2,500 a night. Even so, that's a steal compared to its original $3,500-per-night cost.

Paul Zimmerman/WireImage(RED BANK, N.J.) -- The menu may have gumbo, cornmeal crusted catfish and carrot cake with lemon cream frosting. But the main dish served at Bon Jovi’s experimental new restaurant is hope.

"If you cannot afford to eat, still come,” said the rock ‘n’ roll superstar. “We are open to any and everyone who wants to volunteer.”

The Soul Kitchen, inspired by the adage “teach a man to fish” and spearheaded by the Bon Jovi family, opened in Red Bank, N.J.

With no prices on the menu, the Soul Kitchen provides meals to anyone who has earned them through volunteer hours.

"At a time when one in five households live at or below poverty...we believe this is a time for this restaurant,” said Bon Jovi.

“The Soul Kitchen is meant to serve people in need who will then donate their time. We are not a soup kitchen.”

Bon Jovi hopes the restaurant, which took two years to come into fruition, provides a new model for community empowerment, and hopes to see his dream spread to other communities.

"This is a place for this community made by our community. This is America. We can fix these problems.”

Jason Kempin/Getty Images(BELMAR, N.J.) -- Most of the time the paparazzi are perceived as a nuisance, but pictures and video they captured of two New Jersey police officers failing to enforce the law so they could get Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino’s autograph has done some good.

E! Online reports that The Situation was cruising around Belmar, New Jersey Sunday night in his car with two girls sitting in a single front seat not wearing seatbelts. The officers approached the Jersey Shore star and instead of pulling out their ticket books to write citations, they had The Situation autograph them -- all of which the paparazzi caught on camera.

Belmar Police Chief Thomas Palmisano has since ordered an investigation into the matter, and said the paparazzi video will be used for training so no celebrity will ever be put above the law again.

Donna Svennevik/ABC News(NEW YORK) -- The fourth season of MTV’s Jersey Shore premieres Thursday, with Snooki and the gang taking Florence, Italy by storm. Season five is filming now back where it all started, at Seaside Heights, New Jersey.

Michael Hirschorn of Ish Entertainment explains the popularity of the "GTL" gang by saying they're simply "likeable losers and idiots."

Harry Scott/Redferns(TRENTON, N.J.) -- New Jersey is paying tribute to late E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons on Thursday by having flags flown at half-staff throughout the state "in special recognition of his contributions to the state, people, and culture of New Jersey," according to the governor's website.

"Clarence Clemons represented the soul and spirit of New Jersey," said Christie. "His partnership with Bruce Springsteen and the rest of the E Street Band brought great pride to our state and joy to every fan of this music around the world."

The governor, a die-hard Springsteen fan, added, "On a personal note, when I heard about the Big Man's passing on Saturday night, I was struck with an overwhelming feeling that the days of my youth were now finally over. My condolences to Clarence's family and all the members of the E Street Band."

On another note, new details have emerged about the private memorial service held for Clemons on Tuesday in Palm Beach, Florida, including specifics about the previously-reported eulogy delivered by Springsteen.

"Clarence was a man of unconditional love, but his love came with a lot of conditions," the Boss said, according to the Palm Beach Daily News. "He was a complex guy...an ongoing project. But when you were in his presence, it was like being in a sovereign nation."

The newspaper also reported that Springsteen performed a solo version of his classic "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" during the service, while he, the E Street Band and Jackson Browne played a rendition of Browne and Clemons' 1985 duet "You're a Friend of Mine" to close out the proceedings.